{"id":66608,"date":"2026-07-17T02:37:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=66608"},"modified":"2026-07-17T02:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:37:18","slug":"shortwave-memories-whos-out-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/shortwave-memories-whos-out-there\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortwave Memories — Who\u2019s Out There?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>by Karl D. Forth<\/b><\/p>\n

I can remember very early in my shortwave listening wondering how many people were tuned in to a particular broadcast at the same time I was. I was listening to Radio Portugal on a warm evening in June 1971 when I first had this thought. How many others in North America were listening to Radio Portugal, the Voice of The West, and their evening English service at 9 p.m. CDT in the summer of 1971?<\/p>\n

The BBC, Radio Canada International, and Radio Nederland probably had a decent audience. And Radio Moscow and Radio Havana Cuba always drew some curious listeners.<\/p>\n

What about a smaller broadcaster with an English transmission to North America? How many were listening to any international shortwave broadcaster?<\/p>\n

How many were watching Gunsmoke or Rowan & Martin\u2019s Laugh-In compared to a feature on Portuguese oilseed production and chestnut exports?<\/p>\n

There was no Arbitron ratings book as there was for AM and FM stations in the United States, but it\u2019s fun to think about having a listening diary for shortwave stations, sent not to ARB\u2019s headquarters in Beltsville, Maryland, but somewhere like Geneva, Switzerland, for tabulation.<\/p>\n

The stations themselves didn\u2019t know either, but they made audience estimates based on listener mail. Some stations that you may have listened to only a few times and wrote to get a QSL continued to send schedules for years after, counting you as a regular listener. When seeking funding, the stations pointed out that they sent schedules to 5,000 listeners, for example, every few months. (I\u2019m looking at you, RAI.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also read stories of shortwave schedules still coming to the house of parents of the listener many years after the listener moved away and started a separate life. (He or she probably picked up the schedules when they visited Mom and Dad, I figure.) Today, I\u2019m still asking the same questions about how many are listening. The stations remaining on shortwave are, too. I\u2019ve read some of the estimates for a major broadcaster\u2019s over-the-air and digital audience that seem extremely optimistic.<\/p>\n

Karl D. Forth has been interested in radio and DXing for more than 50 years. This story was included in the book\u00a0Radio Nights and Distant Signals<\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Please note: all Amazon links are affiliate links that support the SWLing Post at no cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Karl D. Forth I can remember very early in my shortwave listening wondering how many people were tuned in to a particular broadcast at the same time I was. I was listening to Radio Portugal on a warm evening in June 1971 when I first had this thought. How many others in North America […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,305,288,7566],"tags":[11102,1396,5751],"class_list":["post-66608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-radio-memories","tag-karl-d-forth","tag-radio-havana-cuba","tag-shortwave-memories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-hkk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":66468,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/shortwave-memories-castro-calling\/","url_meta":{"origin":66608,"position":0},"title":"Shortwave Memories — Castro Calling","author":"Thomas","date":"June 30, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Karl D. Forth On mediumwave, Cuba was a heavyweight, with many high-powered transmitters all over the dial, exceeding the already generous allocation agreed to by the North American nations in 1941. In 1971, Radio Havana Cuba broadcast on shortwave with Spanish to the Americas, English, French, Portuguese, and a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SWL-Scan_cuba-20260430.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SWL-Scan_cuba-20260430.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SWL-Scan_cuba-20260430.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SWL-Scan_cuba-20260430.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SWL-Scan_cuba-20260430.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":66271,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/shortwave-memories-world-radio-tv-handbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":66608,"position":1},"title":"Shortwave Memories \u2014 World Radio-TV Handbook","author":"Thomas","date":"June 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Karl D. Forth Reading through the 1971 World Radio-TV Handbook only as a reference source was interesting, but as I started listening more I also realized I felt part of what was happening \u2013 I could hear many of the countries described, one way or another. I\u2019ve always liked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WRTH-1971.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WRTH-1971.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WRTH-1971.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WRTH-1971.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WRTH-1971.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5475,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/01\/shortwave-radio-recordings-radio-havana-cubas-dxers-unlimited\/","url_meta":{"origin":66608,"position":2},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Havana Cuba’s DXers Unlimited","author":"Thomas","date":"January 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"If you live in the Americas and you regularly listen to a shortwave radio, you have no doubt heard Radio Havana Cuba\u00a0across\u00a0the shortwave spectrum. When I travel in North or Central America, I can easily hear RHC, often without even extending the telescopic antenna on my portable. A long-running program\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ArnieCoroDXersUnlimited","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/ArnieCoroDXersUnlimited.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17862,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/bad-signals-transmitters-in-need-of-care\/","url_meta":{"origin":66608,"position":3},"title":"Bad Signals: Transmitters in need of care","author":"Thomas","date":"March 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"China Radio International via Radio Havana Cuba Each morning, I enjoy listening to Radio Australia on 9,580 kHz, but I'm forced to tune elsewhere\u00a0due to interference\u00a0when China Radio International starts broadcasting on 9,570 kHz, via Radio Havana Cuba's relay. Hypothetically I should be able to mitigate any adjacent interference from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Click to enlarge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/CRI-spectrum-1024x344.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/CRI-spectrum-1024x344.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/CRI-spectrum-1024x344.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7439,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/radio-progreso-signing-on-at\/","url_meta":{"origin":66608,"position":4},"title":"Starting tonight, Radio Progreso on shortwave","author":"Thomas","date":"September 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"According to Arnie Coro at Radio Havana Cuba, the Cuban medium wave broadcaster Radio Progreso will begin an \"experimental\" shortwave broadcast on\u00a04,765 kHz from\u00a000:30 till 04:00 UTC on October 1st, 2013.\u00a0For those of us living in North America, this broadcast will begin at 08:30 PM EDT tonight. I will attempt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Radio-Progreso-Cuba","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Radio-Progreso-Cuba-300x89.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":65927,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/shortwave-memories-go-go-radio-moscow\/","url_meta":{"origin":66608,"position":5},"title":"Shortwave Memories — Go Go Radio Moscow","author":"Thomas","date":"May 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Karl D. Forth Radio Moscow didn\u2019t seem confrontational. We\u2019re here, their attitude seemed to be, and we\u2019re going to offer our opinion on things, which you may or may not like. Looking at the World Radio-TV Handbook in the early 1970s, Radio Moscow was on dozens of frequencies from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Radio-Moscow-graphic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Radio-Moscow-graphic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Radio-Moscow-graphic.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66610,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66608\/revisions\/66610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}